Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto: The US Senate confirmed pro-crypto leaders for the CFTC and FDIC, Bitcoin advocates warned that a US proposed de minimis tax relief may apply only to stablecoins transactions and spot Bitcoin ETFs posted their biggest inflows in over a month,

Senate confirms Selig for CFTC, Hill for FDIC

The US Senate has confirmed crypto-friendly lawyer Mike Selig as the new chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and has elevated Travis Hill to chair the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) in a 53-43 vote on Thursday.

The pair were confirmed in a package of nearly 100 other nominees that the Trump administration had picked for various roles across the government.

The CFTC could soon receive more crypto authority with bills working their way through Congress, and the FDIC is poised to regulate some stablecoin issuers.

![Federal Reserve, Taxes, Bitcoin Regulation, United States, Bitcoin ETF, ETF]()

_Crypto executives, including Coinbase policy head Faryar Shirzad, welcomed Mike Selig’s confirmation. Source: __Faryar Shirzad _

Selig’s term will expire in April 2029 once sworn in. He pledged to make crypto a priority when he was nominated in October after he was picked to take over from the previous nominee, Brian Quintenz.

Hill has already been running the FDIC as the acting chairman and has also shared a friendly crypto stance, speaking at Congressional hearings about the alleged debanking of companies due to crypto ties.

Bitcoin Policy Institute sounds alarm on de minimis tax exclusion

Representatives of the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), a nonprofit Bitcoin advocacy organization, warned that US lawmakers have not included a de minimis tax exemption for Bitcoin transactions below a certain threshold.

“De Minimis tax legislation may be limited to only stablecoins, leaving everyday Bitcoin transactions without an exemption,” Conner Brown, BPI’s head of strategy, said on X, adding that the decision to exclude Bitcoin is a “severe mistake.”

In July, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a bill proposing a de minimis tax exemption for crypto transactions of $300 or less, with a $5,000 annual limit on tax-free transactions and sales.

The bill proposal also included tax exemptions for digital assets used for charitable donations and tax deferment for crypto earned through mining proof-of-work (PoW) protocols or staking to secure blockchain networks.

Allowing a tax exemption for small Bitcoin transactions would increase its use as a medium of exchange rather than just as a store of value asset, allowing a new financial system built on a Bitcoin standard, BTC advocates say.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs record $457 million inflows in “early positioning” push

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $457 million in net inflows on Wednesday, marking their strongest single-day intake in more than a month as institutional demand showed signs of re-acceleration.

Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) led the inflows, recording the largest daily intake at roughly $391 million, accounting for the majority of the day’s net inflows. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) followed with around $111 million, according to data from Farside Investors.

![Federal Reserve, CFTC, HashKey]()

_Last time spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows of over $450 million was on Nov. 11. Source: _Farside Investors

The inflows lifted cumulative net inflows for US spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs to more than $57 billion, while total net assets climbed above $112 billion, equivalent to around 6.5% of Bitcoin’s total market capitalization.

The rebound followed a choppy stretch in November and early December, when flows alternated between modest inflows and sharp outflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs last saw inflows above $450 million on Nov. 11, when funds pulled in roughly $524 million in a single day.